Without faith, we can have no trust. Faith means believing God,  It means believing in the integrity and worthiness of His character and in the truthfulness of His Word. To trust God, we must have confidence that God is Who He says He is, and that He is able to do what He says He can and will do.

Trust Comes from Knowing God

In order to trust God, we must know Him and His character. The primary way we come to know Him is by reading, studying and meditating upon His Word to us, the Bible. The Bible reveals to us the character of God, the wonderful and powerful ways of God, and His heart of love for His world, especially for mankind, His greatest creation. Regrettably, we live in a society that is Biblically illiterate. In fact, we live in a culture where many have even disavowed the reality taught in His Word that there is a Loving Creator Who created mankind, and created people for a divine purpose. Many people have a false notion of who God is because they’ve not read His Word, or they have read or heard only snippets of it–verses that are often taken out of context. Or, they’ve primarily heard about Him from other people who also don’t know Him, and those people have given them a false impression of who God is. 

We must know a person and their character in order to know that we can trust them. A child who has been lovingly cared for by their parents is confident that their Mom or Dad will provide for their needs and knows they don’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from, where they’ll sleep at night, or if their needs will be taken care of should they fall or get sick. The child has learned that his or her parents are trustworthy so the child can be at rest and live without worry, confident in the loving provision of his parents. We can have full confidence in our Heavenly Father Who will always provide for our every need! He longs for us to know that we can depend upon Him for everything and at all times!

I  vividly remember a  time when I was in a group of women who were making false statements about a friend of mine and I let them know they were mistaken. How did I know the statements were false? Because I knew my friend very well so I knew that the things being said about her were untrue. It turned out that the women making the assertions had gotten my friend mixed up with another woman who had the same first name and a similarly sounding last name. But before they knew the truth, they spoke as if they knew about my friend and maligned her character.

That same kind of thing happens to God. People often say things that they think are facts about God to others who don’t have a relationship with Him, and the people listening believe those false claims. If we don’t know Him, we will be vulnerable to believing lies about Him that will cause us to distrust the most Trustworthy Person in the world. And we will miss out on the peace and joy that we can have from knowing Him and putting our trust in His power and goodness.

Do you know God well enough to know when people are making false claims about Him? On a one to ten scale, with ten being the highest degree, how well would you say you know God? Are you a stranger, an acquaintance, or a true friend of God? 

God invites us to be His friend! But it takes knowing Him, believing Him, and demonstrating our trust in Him through our obedience to Him to be His friend.

You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. James 2:22-23 (ESV)

Did you know that He longs to have an intimate relationship with you? That friendship with God is not reserved for Abraham and the heroes of the Bible, but is also available to you? Jesus gave His very life so that you could have a personal, intimate relationship with Him. (Ezekiel 37:27; John 1:14; Revelation 21:3) What a privilege and honor it is to be a ‘friend of the Bridegroom’! (John 3:22-36)

There’s a Difference Between Knowing About God, and Knowing God

I was blessed to grow up in a Christian household, and as a child and young adult I would’ve said that I was a Christian and that I loved God. However, it wasn’t until I was an adult in my late thirties after I began faithfully reading the Bible that I would say I really developed a personal relationship with God. Knowing Him has made all of the difference in my life! I realize now all that I was missing out on because I knew some things about God, but I did not truly know Him. Therefore, I could not truly trust Him. 

It was only as I pursued a relationship with God through studying His Word that I came to really know Him. In coming to know Him, I discovered that God has a wonderful plan for my life; that He is always loving; that He is always truthful; that He is always trustworthy; that He is always at work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. I have come to realize that I can trust Him with everything that concerns my life, and in doing so, I have been released from fear, worry, and anxiety. In their place I have peace, joy, and contentment. 

It is also in knowing God that I have found the Source of eternal and abundant life:

And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent. John 17:3 AMPC

What Happens When We Put Our Trust In God Who is Infallible

When we choose to put our faith in God, He will lead us and guide us and make our paths straight:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) 

We are able to let go of our anxieties and worries and give them to God, Who cares for us and lovingly watches over us:

Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. 1 Peter 5:7 (AMPC)

We will be able to share with the Lord our concerns and desires and entrust them to Him, which leads to our experiencing the kind of peace that comes from Him alone and surpasses all understanding:

…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)

We will be able to experience His strength that will uphold us and empower us:

…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (ESV) 

We will humbly recognize that we can do nothing apart from Him, and glorify Him and experience the joy of doing all things that He calls and commands us to do:

…for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 (ESV)

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Hebrews 4:13 (ESV)

Have Faith in God and His Power and Goodness

It is important to know the Word that reveals God’s character and to regularly remind ourselves of Who He is so that we will be able to overcome every fear that rises up with the truth that God is indeed good, powerful, and completely trustworthy.

• He is good: Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 1 Chronicles 16:34 (ESV). Our Lord’s very nature is good, and He can never be anything other than good. 
• He is omniscient: Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. Psalm 147:5 (ESV) Our Lord is all-knowing. No one else has the knowledge and understanding that He has!
• He is omnipotent: But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 (ESV) Our Lord is all-powerful and in control of everything. There is nothing good that He cannot do!
• He is omnipresent: And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20 (ESV) Our Lord is always with us. You can trust that you are never alone; He will not leave or forsake you. 
• He cares for you: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:2 (ESV) The Lord can be trusted to take care of you at all times, even during the greatest of life’s trials.
• He will provide all that you need. He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32 (ESV)  We can trust God for everything that we need in life. He demonstrated the depth of His lavish love for us and the degree of His trustworthiness when He willingly sacrificed His life and took on our sin so that the debt for our sin could be paid and we could have a relationship with Him. If He was willing to die for you, do you think there is anything that is for your good that He would ever withhold from you? You can trust the Man Who died for you to give you all that you need!
• He will counsel you: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8 (ESV) You can trust the wisest Person in the World to be your personal counselor, a counselor Who loves you with an everlasting, unfailing love, and Who is the Way to have abundant and eternal life.

Make Increasing Your Faith a Priority

When we invest our time and energy in developing a relationship with Jesus through reading and studying His Word, and make it a priority to be in relationship with other believers who also seek to know Him, our minds will be renewed in the truth that we can trust God at all times and for all things. Connect with us at TrueView Ministries to pursue a closer relationship with the Lord!